AN ELLESMERE Port man who carried out numerous acts of sexual assault, indecency and rape on young girls over a number of years began a 15-year prison term on Thursday.

AN ELLESMERE Port man who carried out numerous acts of sexual assault, indecency and rape on young girls over a number of years began a 15-year prison term on Thursday.

Gerard Mongey was found guilty of three counts of rape, 12 counts of indecent assault and two of gross indecency at the end of a seven-day trial last month.

Chester Crown Court heard that these offences, all of which involved young girls, were carried out between 1974 and 1998.

Keith Sutton, defending, said Mongey, 43, who is originally from Ellesmere Port but recently moved to Grasmere Avenue, Workington, Cumbria, did not accept that he committed sex acts involving children, despite the jury's verdict.

He added that the last offence for which the defendant was being sentenced had occurred in August of 1998, indicating that Mongey did not pose an immediate risk to the public.

But Judge Roger Dutton, sentencing, told Mongey: 'It is absolutely clear from all the evidence in this case that throughout your life you have been a violent, aggressive, intimidating and manipulative man.

'There was a number of acts of assault, indecency and rape in squalid and disgusting circumstances."

He added: 'The impact of this behaviour on these females has been very profound indeed.'

Judge Dutton concluded that of all the cases of rape and indecency he had dealt with during a career spanning 27 years, Mongey's was one of the worst.

In addition to the 15-year jail term, the defendant must sign on the Sexual Offenders Register for the rest of his life.